Is a “Personal Relationship” with Authors What Readers Want?

Maybe what readers want is peace and quiet and good books.

by Anne R. Allen

The latest trend in online marketing is building a “personal relationship” with customers and readers. Sending newsy emails about your fab summer vacation isn’t enough anymore. Now you have to ask them about their fab summer vacations.

This is supposed to let readers know you really care about them.

Does it?

Speaking as a reader, that would be a…not so much.

I read lots of books. Do I want all those authors clogging my inbox, trying to be my BFF? Nope. Not even if it’s Margaret Atwood. If she really cares about me, she’ll write another book, not have a virtual assistant send me a faux-friendly email.

As an author, it all makes me want to cry. How can a working author find time to be pen pals with thousands of readers—even with robotic help?

As a customer, I feel bullied. I don’t even get a say in whether I want a personal relationship. I’m especially irked with authors and vendors who try to get up close and personal even before I decide to buy a book or service.

Maybe it’s the Manners Doctor in me, but I think people should be properly introduced before they ask personal questions. Too much, too soon doesn’t make me feel befriended. It makes me feel bulldozed.

In this current marketing scenario, the author/vendor offers a bribe, like a free ebook (called a “reader magnet”) in exchange for a potential customer’s information. (And recently many vendors have dropped the freebie, and the “magnet” is simply the privilege of entering a website.)

Once they’ve got your deets, they’ll hammer you into a “personal” relationship with their robots whether you want it or not.

The Invasive Auto-Response Email

The plan goes like this: once you’re on the hook, the author or vendor sends an immediate automated email that asks friendly questions like:

What books do you read?

Where do you live?

What do you like to do?

Yoga? And when are your classes?

Oh, so you’re out of the house on Tuesday evenings between 7 and 9?

Where do you keep your valuables?

Kidding aside, not everybody feels warm and fuzzy when asked personal questions by complete strangers. The line between “friendly” and “invasion of privacy” can be a thin one. When you cross it, you are going to have less than positive results.

I have recommended several blogs and websites to our blog readers—and some have encountered this kind of invasive marketing. The readers were not pleased. When I told the site owners this wasn’t winning them any friends, they said they hadn’t had any complaints.

Of course they hadn’t. The potential customers can’t get on the site to complain. They’re locked out unless they give up all their personal information.

The person who hears the complaints is ME.

I can’t help wondering if any of the marketing gurus have noticed that Facebook just got fined $5 billion dollars for invading users’ privacy. Privacy-invading is not a good business plan these days, even if you’re not selling data to the highest bidder. $5 billion may be pocket change to Mr. Zuckerberg, but it might make a hole in the budget of the average author.

If you thought that first email was invasive, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet.

There’ll be more. And more. A robot (or frazzled author) will send you generic, condescending platitudes in response to the data they’ve mined from you. And more questions.

Remember these newly-minted “fans” aren’t even customers yet. Maybe they don’t read books in your genre or need your services. But marketers say now that the target has been conned out of personal information and sent a bunch of annoying emails, the “conversions” (that’s jargon for “sales”) will happen automatically

They don’t have a clue that at this point the potential customers are more interested in escaping with their lives than buying stuff.

And somehow unsubscribing takes weeks, if it happens at all. (I still get emails addressed to “Dear Unsubscribe Me You Morons.”)

And unsubscribers are also subjected to a major guilt trip. “Where did we go wrong?” one site asks if you try to leave. Or you have to hit a button that says: “I’m not interested in becoming a published author,” or “I prefer to remain ignorant.”

This kind of marketing feels as if you said “maybe” to a blind date with a friend’s cousin. But before you can even talk about where to go for coffee, the cousin has moved into your apartment with three Rottweilers and is rebuilding a motorcycle engine in your living room. When you ask him to leave, he shows you the cast on his broken leg. He can’t even walk!

If you kick him out, you’re a Bad Person.

Then Things get Stalkery.

But wait, there’s more!

After a week or two of daily invasive questions and condescending advice, you get an astonishing missive complaining that you haven’t been to their website in 13.3 days! Have you forgotten you’re BFFs? Guess you don’t want to have a nice life, do you? Are you sick or something? Well, you can’t be that sick, since you ordered Chinese last night. And you know how MSG triggers your asthma…

Not that they’re stalking you or anything.

I’m not making this up. I’ve had several emails like this from authors and author services recently. Obviously they’re working from the same marketing playbook. Which was apparently composed while watching Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction.

Here’s one I got last week, exactly 2 weeks after I accepted the “bribe” of being allowed to visit the site:

“Did you forget about us? I noticed you’ve been inactive for some time, so I thought I’d reach out to see if I can be of any assistance. Did you experience any problems on my site? Or are you just not ready to start working with professionals?”

Meow. Passive-aggressive much?

Does a whiny, clingy, stalkery email make you run to a website and buy something right that minute? Shower the author or company with money and five star reviews?

Personally, my first thought was, OMG this company must be about to go under. Total desperation. Don’t do business with them!

Would This Marketing Work in the Real-World Marketplace?

Can you imagine walking into a brick and mortar bookstore and encountering this kind of behavior?

Say you want to find out if a shop has a new title by a favorite author. So you try to peek in the window.

A guard blocks your view and demands your name and address.

When you’re finally allowed inside, your data goes to a perky author who follows you around asking what you like to do and where you live and offers to come over that night with a nice kale salad, since you obviously don’t eat right or have any friends. And…why do you want to buy that book? Why not buy my book? Oh, you read it? Then where’s the review? Did you hate it? Or are you just lazy? Are you trying to ruin my life?

I think I’d run out the door screaming. How about you?

Most Readers are Introverts

Okay, maybe this kind of marketing works for selling widgets or pumpkin spice underwear or something. Maybe some customers really are ignorant, friendless losers sitting like an abandoned toy on some cobwebby nursery shelf—pining for an advertiser to fill the empty inboxes of their tattered souls.

But I don’t believe for a minute all this time-consuming nonsense will endear an author to readers, no matter how many sleepless nights the author spends ruining her health trying to have a personal relationship with them.

Most of my friends are readers, and most of them aren’t all that eager to get palsy-walsy with strangers—whether they’re authors or not—when there are books to be read.

In fact, I know quite a few who prefer to shop at supermarkets with self-checkout lines so they don’t have to talk to anybody and can get back to their books as soon as possible.

Or better yet, they order from Amazon so they don’t have to interact with people at all.

Have any of these marketers noticed that Amazon does pretty well for itself in the selling-stuff department? Why not copy the Zon’s easy-peasy one-click selling instead of all this creepy invasion of privacy?

Here’s the thing: most avid readers are introverts.

Introverts don’t need constant attention to feel special.

They can feel special all by themselves.

Please. That would be now. Go Away. I’m reading.

Why Is Online Marketing Immune to the Golden Rule?

Assuming all members of a target demographic are the same is the first mistake of these marketers. The second is thinking that customers are sub-human targets to be conned and preyed upon, so the Golden Rule does not apply.

Online marketing has had the same business model from the beginning. Give the target a freebie, and once they’re hooked, make them pay more and more for the same experience.

Con, lie, bait-and-switch—whatever draws them in. Then own them.

Like a drug dealer.

It’s no-empathy advertising. The marketer is the predator and the customer is prey.

Pretending to be somebody’s instant BFF is still predatory, especially when you’ve bullied them out of their email address.

Seth Godin says Online Marketing Needs to Change.

I’m glad to see that marketing guru Seth Godin agrees with me. He’s got a new book out saying that online marketing needs to change its ways. He says, “Truly powerful marketing is grounded in empathy, generosity, and emotional labour.”

Not bullying and gimmicks and gaming the algorithms.

Online advertising needs to move beyond predatory behavior. I believe it’s possible to sell books and services without being a bully or a con.

What readers want is to be left alone unless they initiate contact. If you hear from a reader, then by all means be as kind and welcoming to them as you would like them to be to you. Form a real personal relationship, not a phony, forced one.

Golden-Rule them to pieces.

Now that’s good marketing.

What Readers Want.

One of the more annoying articles on this “personal relationship” marketing strategy suggested that authors need to communicate with one-on-one emails in order to “find out what readers want.”

But there’s another way to find out what readers want: look at what they buy.

Anybody who thinks authors should spend 16 hours a day finding out what readers want via pen-pal has no idea what it means to be a writer.

Here’s an idea: why don’t we write what’s in our hearts and then find readers with similar hearts and market to them: our peers, not “targets” we treat as inferiors?

What about respecting our readers’ time? And our own?

I happen to think authors have better things to do than have fake relationships with 1000s of readers.

Like, oh, maybe….writing books.

Or maybe they could start a blog where they could interact with the readers who want to interact. Or send a newsletter with actual news.

As a reader, I’d rather read books by my favorite authors than creepy, prying emails from them (or their robot assistants.)

I wish I could tell those marketers what readers want—what they really, really want—even more than time-wasting faux personal relationships.

It’s…BOOKS! Good ones.

Let’s go write some.

Marketing fads are short-lived. But a great book is forever.

Some Help with those Websites that Demand your Deets to Enter

Here’s an update from Ruth. If you want to enter one of those websites like Wayfair and Zulilly that don’t let you in without giving up your email address, there’s a site that can give you a 10 minute temporary address to use. Just go to 10 Minute Mail for a free anonymous email address.

In the past, I’ve invented a fake name and email (Like Fartie McFartface at IhatePopups@hotmail.com) But this is more legit looking. 🙂

by Anne R. Allen (@annerallen) August 18, 2019

***

What about you, scriveners? Do you think marketers know what readers want? Have you been drawn into this “personal relationship” marketing?Have you been getting these trendy invasive emails yet? Are you happy spending your days writing personal emails to all your readers?

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About Anne R. Allen

Anne writes funny mysteries and how-to-books for writers. She also writes poetry and short stories on occasion. Oh, yes, and she blogs. She's a contributor to Writer's Digest and the Novel and Short Story Writer's Market.

Her bestselling Camilla Randall Mystery RomCom Series features perennially down-on-her-luck former socialite Camilla Randall—who is a magnet for murder, mayhem and Mr. Wrong, but always solves the mystery in her quirky, but oh-so-polite way.

Anne lives on the Central Coast of California, near San Luis Obispo, the town Oprah called "The Happiest City in America."

Hi Anne! Great post. No, I haven’t experienced this kind of “invasiveness” but it sounds scary to me nonetheless. The way I look at it, asking me all those personal questions isn’t fair because I would not ask those questions of the authors I read and follow. It borders on rude, in my opinion. For example, would I send a private FB message to Catherine Ryan Hyde asking if she’d read the YA novel I just wrote out of the kindness of her heart because I’m one of her followers? Uh…..no. That’s totally rude. So, I would expect the same type of honoring of my privacy as well. Especially since I know many of these authors have assistants so the author doesn’t TRULY want to know about me so, come on, let’s get real here.

Patricia–That’s part of the problem. The only authors who can write books AND conduct an email correspondence with every single one of their readers are authors who have assistants, so the “personal relationship” is with a paid assistant or a robot. So the whole thing is a sham.

Bad enough sometimes employees follow you around the store, badgering you – can you imagine if the author did it?
Unsubscribe Me You Moron – that made me laugh out loud!
We’re told to ask questions at the end of our blog posts, but asking personal ones in emails to readers is not cool.

Alex–You’ve hit on something I hadn’t thought of! We are indeed told to ask questions at the end of a blogpost. And I always do that. They are to stimulate discussion, not get personal with the blog reader.

But that may be where the idea of personal questions in emails came from The author email fad comes from the idea that sending a blog-type article in an email is superior to a blog (NO idea why) But since they’re imitating blogs in every other way, they may have added the question thing as an imitation blog-thing. But of course there’s no comment section in an email, so the questions seem more personal and invasive.

Hi, Anne! I just purchased Boomer Women, after reading this blog article! Now I feel like your BFF! Please, notice all the EXCLAMATION POINTS and CAPITAL LETTERS I’m using! That’s to indicate that we’re now BFFs! Looking forward to our ongoing chitter chat!

Thank you for opening my eyes in a gentle way–with much humour–to these practices. I had no idea authors were actually doing this. And I agree authors should write what is in their heart and connect with readers by blogging. It’s working for me.

Leanne–Me too. Of course we both started blogging a long time ago. I know new bloggers feel discouraged by all the competition, and they may feel that sending emails gets them more immediate feedback. But blogs also bring in new readers, which is why I think they make more sense.

I had no idea authors were doing this either! As soon as I see “the bribe” on a website I’m initially interested in, I’m out of there so fast you can’t see me for the cyber-dustcloud–and I never return. Why? Because I know a crass, manipulative marketing ploy when I see one. I didn’t just fall off the proverbial turnip truck. I also feel affirmed for defying conventional marketing wisdom by attempting to collect email addresses. I have an author’s website with a blog where people can find me and interact with me if they so choose.

AGREED! It’s just the latest verson of the shark feeding frenzy that marketing has become with, of course, the ultimate end being to somehow “monetize, monetize, monetize, do not let any opportunity evade your eyes.” (Apologies for the Tom Lehrer paraphrase.)

SK–Marketing has indeed become frenzied. Nobody knows what works, so they keep doing everything.

Haha! The paraphrased Tom Lehrer quote was driving me crazy, so I had to find the real thing.

“Plagiarize
Let no one else’s work evade your eyes
Remember why the good Lord made your eyes
So don’t shade your eyes
But plagiarize, plagiarize, plagiarize
Only be sure always to call it please “research””

Hooeey, such a marriage of awesome and scary, Anne. I’ve only seen the edges of these approaches, as when I look at a bona fide marketing online course, gulp at the price-tag, and then delve into the cheaper ones only to see such incredible confidence: so either the first guy is overcharging or..

Part of it for me sounds similar to that earlier generation when “successful” authors just spammed us to death with notices about their new book, buy it, buy it now, etc. The sense you give me about these predatory practices shares a kind of eerie CONFIDENCE level about it. It all just seems so sure of itself. Dunning-Kreuger on steroids, I think, in both cases: the spam shouts to buy the book didn’t work, and neither will the spider-websites, in the end.

Of course I hope that’s true. But if it isn’t, I still prefer relative anonymity! Thanks as always.

Will–You’ve hit on why this new fad has hit me so hard. It’s the Dunning-Kruger effect at work. These people are not only confident, but scornful of me as a mere consumer who could not possibly know what I like or fear. They know what I like better than I do. Grrr. Good insight!

I’m with you, Anne, on the auto-bot “friends”. They’re presumptive, rude and I doubt they’re very effective. But, this morning I saw a real and touching example of a true reader-writer personal relationship. You might have seen it, too. It was a Facebook post by a mutual friend who is a New Hampshire crime-thriller writer who has a penchant for crows. One of her avid readers from Alberta, Canada sent the writer a crow-motif pendant. I think our writer friend was more pleased with her crow piece than hitting #1 on the Zon. It’s life moments like this that really define a reader-writer relationship and I’m sure one that will continue indefinitely.

Garry–I hadn’t seen that! But how cool. Yes! That’s exactly why we’re on social media and that’s a real, honest interaction that no robot can replicate. It’s also a group thing–done in public on a Facebook page–not in the privacy of email, where the same thing might seem a little stalkery.

Anne, your real-world example is hilarious! And yes, I am with you 100% of the way. I also agree that readers are introverts. I don’t *want* to meet my favourite writer (who just died recently, alas, so I probably won’t. Or maybe I will, because I suspect he’s been naughty too.) So many readers expect us to look like our protagonists. The fact that we don’t can disappoint them. Meeting the author can make the book or series seem ‘less real’.

Melodie–I hadn’t thought of that, but of course it’s true! Readers do tend to think of authors as looking like their protagonists. Especially when we write in first person. Any fan of Camilla who meets me in real life is in for a shock. Instead of an elegant fashionista in couture outfits and designer shoes, they meet old, fat me in my stretchy jeans and Crocs. Rude awakening. We should let them have their illusions. 🙂

Its like you’ve read my mind! I quietly, privately rant on about these things while deleting pushy emails and unsubscribing but you’ve set it all out so much more eloquently 🙂
My knee-jerk reaction to any sort of sell or faux-‘nice-nice’ is to say ‘no thanks’ and walk away. Yet its so much more annoying to keep finding stuff like that in my inbox. And don’t get me started on the buttons with those rude messages, implying that I’m some sort of pathetic loser, which usually has me whispering ,’p**s off’ as I unsubscribe.
You are so right – the best way for writers to be nice to readers is to Write More Good Books. Nice little aside for me – your post makes me feel ok about having the teeniest, single-figure blog-subscriber list in creation 🙂

Joy–I think people are less and less likely to subscribe because of exactly this kind of insulting, invasive marketing. Instead of thinking, “yeah, I’d like a notice of her new blogposts” we think “OMG how much spam is she going to send me?” And it’s usually even more than you imagine. I don’t subscribe to many author blogs anymore because they usually come with newsletters and other spam. Instead I tend to look for blog notices on FB or Twitter. Your blog readers may be doing that.

I haven’t had that kind of bad contact with fave writers. Then again, most of the writers I know (such as you) I’m friends with on FB. Thus, no nasty marketing crap/invasive pleas/ads are experienced. Overall, since most of my reading of books are from the public library, I don’t worry about being bombarded by stupid excess verbiage. And should I come across a blog that requires me to give it up in order to get in, I’ll be sure to remember not to read anything by that author ever again.

G. B. I think marketers have no idea how much harm they’re doing for their clients with this stuff. I’m with you. I have a list of companies I will never do business with because they ask for personal information to enter their websites.

I wanted to see if one clothing site that constantly hits my FB feed with ads even carries my size. So I made up an email address and signed up as Fartie McFartface. I wouldn’t be surprised if half their email list is fake people who did the same thing. So they’ve alienated most of their potential customers just to get a bunch of fake emails. How can that be good business?

Hi Anne, I love this post. I pretty much enjoy all your posts. I have been putting the link to your posts on my website, “Highly Regarded Blogs” page. You have such good information I want to share it as widely as I can. I hope that is okay with you.

I agree with everything you said and would add this: hit the delete button. Don’t even bother to open the email. I think writers have to decide how to spend their time. Are those marketing messages worth the time? Nope, so just delete. Otherwise, you can literally waste most of your productive time on this stuff. Oh, and don’t forget political emails that come in by the dozens every single day. Need I repeat? Hit delete.

Berta–I sometimes read them just to see how awful they can be. I try to unsubscribe, but as I said, instead I get emails addressed to “Dear Unsubscribe Me.’ I delete about a hundred emails an hour. The political ones are the worst. I will never sign another petition, no matter how good the cause. They are just bait to get your email address. And the political ones are toughest to unsubscribe from.

Though I had to wonder what author’s you’d subscribed to. I haven’t personally had that experience with author newsletters. But there’s always tomorrow, haha.

On the other hand, those few folks that I subscribed to with ‘information’ products do exactly as you describe. Sometimes the emails come so often that you can hear them panting from all the running and salesing and stuff.

Your blog title caught my eye today as this is something I’ve been wondering about – because I’ve been seeing lots of blog posts and articles that advise you do the very things you’ve mentioned. And just the thought of doing that with total strangers makes me feel a little icky.

I do believe there is merit in having an email list and a newsletter to stay in touch with readers/subscribers – but personally, I’m looking for a kinder gentler approach. Trying to think of things that would be helpful to readers that I could share with them. Still thinking on that one though.

I don’t think it’s wrong per se to try to develop a relationship with readers/subscribers, but I do think it’s something that should be approached organically and kindly. The one thing I find really lacking in most marketing is respect to the potential consumer. And even the advice from the so-called gurus seem to me to be a bit on the arrogant side. Perhaps intimidation is effective with some, I know it isn’t with me though. So, I try to treat my readers as I’d wish to be treated and hope it works out.

Annie–I prefer building relationships with readers via blogs and social media because I go to blogs and social media when I choose and I have the time. But email is an obligation, and I want to get through it as quickly as possible. But some people don’t like to read blogs, so email is an alternative.

But you’re so right that the ingredient that’s lacking in so much of this marketing is R-E-S-P-E-C-T. Just like Aretha said. 🙂

Anne, by the way, I have to put down your (and Catherine Ryan Hyde’s) engrossing book, “How to be a Writer in the E-Age” to thank you for another educational blog. With friends like these pushy people, who needs enemies.

Thank you for this, Anne. I have a few readers I’m friends with but the thought of personal relationships with all of them and the pressure to be “authentic”, whatever that means for an introvert, makes me want to move to a cabin in the hills with no Wi-Fi.

Thank you for this much needed post. I read hundreds of books, but interact with 2 authors only. One is Jane Davis on FB because her anecdotes from her daily life are so witty. The other is Vered Ehsani who lives in Nairobi and relates interesting facts about life in Kenya.

Darlene–Thanks for speaking from the reader’s perspective. You don’t want to “hang out” with every author you read. You’d have no time to read. 🙂 And those two authors have something of major value to offer you: humor and information. That’s the ingredient marketers forget: valuable content.

Thank you for writing this.
If someone were to follow me around a store (or anywhere) pretending to be my BFF, I would immediately think “con job.” Because normal, healthy people don’t pretend to be besties with strangers, and I believe it’s a common tactic of con artists to act like they know you better than they really do.

Also, if unsubscribe doesn’t work for you, try blocking that email address. That’s what I do when I never want to hear from someone again.

Tori–Great point! If you act like a con artist, people might think you’re a con artist. So don’t. 🙂

You know, I don’t know how to block an email address in gmail. I’ll have to look into it. I know gmail blocks a lot of addresses I don’t want them to–like newspapers I have paid subscriptions to and companies I actually do business with. I should Google it.

Nice to see somebody take on the email breadcrumbs thing that is supposedly sooooo effective. I hate them and I don’t want to set one up. Either read my books or don’t. I’m not going to badger you. I have better uses for my time. :-p

Another thing I just haaaaaate is emails where the writer roleplays as their characters in order to tell me a book is almost finished being written, or is with the editor, or is on sale, or whatever. Even worse is when it’s a cutesy kid or a dog or something writing the email. I know some people like this stuff, but it makes me want to stab myself in the eyes with a fork. :-p

Kessie–I’m with you 100%. I hate author newsletters. I don’t have time to read the books in my TBR pile. Why would I want to waste my time reading about some author’s new hairdo? Unless they’re letters with actual news like C. Hope Clark’s Funds for Writers.

I haven’t been subjected to the cutsie emails, but I think they would make me wish for somebody to get forked too. 🙂

I have experienced this and it is annoying.
If I see a pop up add asking me to sign to a newsletter whenever I click in a blog or website, it is a red flag. I leave.
I rather interact with the author in person at a book signing.
Excellent article, Anne. You put my feelings into words.

Ingmar–You’re right. It’s a red flag letting us know this author or vendor is under the control of a web designer or marketer who cares more about gimmicks and manipulating visitors than they do about their client’s reputation.

Anne, you’ve reminded me why I gave up direct marketing to go write my books. DM was so manipulative I couldn’t take it any more. And that was way pre-internet. I haven’t experienced the stalkery stuff you describe but neither do I give my details to anyone. Neither do I wish to know my elf name,when I’m due to die (go figure that one) or which Disney princess I am. All are trawling for personal info which, when aggregated, give a terrifying snapshot of us. I do have blog subscribers but say every time that I don’t share their details with anyone.

Valerie–But how can you hang out with the elves if you don’t know what Disney princess you are? Haha. You know, I used to do those things sometimes, thinking they were only time-wasters. Then I read about how many of them are just tools used by identity thieves.

We do need to be vigilant these days. I mentioned a disease (I don’t have) on FB one day–not even my page, and within a week I was getting spam and snail mail telling me how to manage my “diagnosis”. That was a major wake-up call for me!

I’m sure your subscribers are grateful. I think ours know we never share or use the list for anything except notices of this blog.

Someone had to say it Anne, and you did a great job it it. My gawd some sites want your first born before you even know what you will find in it – kind of like landing on an article and not even read through the first sentence those gigantic pop up boxes come into our faces with their click bait offerings. As usual, I’m with you on all counts. 🙂

Thank you, thank you, Anne!
I’ve felt so disorganised and unprofessional for not having a newsletter! David Gaughran would say I was a complete failure – no newsletter, no audience, no sales. Hmm.
I do have a blog and love writing the blog which is about as eclectic as one could get. I do have a sign up to the blog and I do have a couple of free stories for any who want them, but I’m a bit laissez-faire about it being a hard-sell and TBH, I have no idea how many follow my blog, if any at all.
Recently, I unsubscribed from a marketing guru, because as his latest publication approached, I received email after email about said marketing of new book, to the point where I felt I was being spammed and I just blew a raspberry and clicked off.
Lost interest. Completely.
I am happy for my blog (and website) to be there for people to amble through, take a taste of, window-shop or not ,and pootle on. Life’s too short for the hard sell. I want folk to just relax and enjoy.
Thanks again, for making me feel as if I might possibly be respecting readers after all.

Prue–I’m like you. No newsletter. I read David G. and figure I must be a complete failure. But then I go to Author Central and see that I’m still in the top 1000 mystery authors on Amazon US. Way down from the top 150 where I once was, but I honestly don’t think spending all my time on newsletters would sell more books. I figure people buy my books because they like mysteries, not photos of my fab summer vacation.

I’m one of your blog subscribers and although I hardly ever have time to comment, I always enjoy the window into life on the other side of the world. I can’t imagine if you send it to me as a newsletter that I would enjoy it more. In fact, I’d enjoy it less because the text and photos are smaller in my email program.

I love the expression “pootle on”! That’s new to me. I think I’ll have to start using it.

David Gaughran would say do whatever works for you. But I’d also add if you have “no audience” and “no sales” as you said yourself, a newsletter might help there. I don’t, however, endorse the practices Anne talks about above. Email marketing can be done well or badly, like many things. And I don’t think parodizing it, or building a succession of straw men regarding it really serves anyone – including your audience here.

David, perhaps I phrased my comment to Anne wrongly. I should have said David Gaughran says no newsletter ‘equals’ no audience ‘equals’ no sales. In fact, I do manage to sell a few books which keeps me happy and validates my writing, and I do engage with folk regularly via social media and my blog. My blog is a regular thing which I love writing, and covers a wide variety of subjects. I’m a lover of Facebook, blogs, Instagram and Pinterest.
Sorry for not explaining myself more succinctly.
Cheers and all the best.

I’ve never said that. I think newsletters are one of the most powerful tools at your disposal. Like any tool, it can be used well or badly. Or not at all, I guess. Your choice. But breezily dismissing such a proven and valuable tool is a pretty limited view IMO. If writing newsletters is not to your personal taste then that’s totally fine. But if you (general you) want to make a claim that it doesn’t work as a tool, well then that’s just demonstrably false.

David–I subscribe to your newsletter and it’s the opposite of the kind I’m talking about in this piece. You’ve never asked me about my fab summer vacation. 🙂 In fact, your newsletter is identical to a good blog. The only difference is that it has to be read in an email program, which is a bit harder to read. And it can’t be shared on social media. Otherwise, a good newsletter is identical to a blog. I think people should do whichever works for them. But both is overkill for most of us.

I think there’s still a lot to be said for email marketing because it’s a rare blog where people will actually leave a comment on the post (I get tagged on comments left when it’s shared on FB instead). And I can’t afford the eye watering amounts now required to advertise on Amazon. So how else do I let people know my books are available?

I send an email the day after they ask for their freebie to check they got it. Not everyone is tech savvy and sometimes they can’t figure out Bookfunnel. But then after that I only email once a month, and I focus on sending a free story or book recommendations. I’m terrible at asking for a sale. I think, if I was a reader and I liked a writer who was slow at putting out books, what would I want to receive between books? Yay, more stories by them!

But.

I still sign up for author lists where I get a breathless “thank you so much for being my fan” email within ten minutes of downloading a freebie, and then every subsequent email is so loaded with links to their books that they look and feel like I’ve accidentally subscribed to a catalogue. I feel like it’s that kind of email marketing that gives the rest of us a bad name.

Icy–There’s certainly a place for email marketing. And a blog notice goes into email too. (I have people tell me how much they love my “newsletter” even though only the first few sentences go into email.) Commenting on blogs is way down, and people are giving up a huge opportunity to raise their Google ranking by commenting. I’m not sure what’s up with that. Maybe because commenting online in general has become toxic with the political upheavals we’re going through.

Sending out freebie stories between books is a lovely thing. A far cry from the privacy invading stuff that’s been driving me nuts.

You’re right that email marketing can work, but the spammers are ruining it for everybody.

Thank you, thank you, thank you! As an introvert reader, and a shy writer, I so agree with all you have shared here. This post is a welcome, wake-up call breath of fresh air in a very noisy, look-at-me, hot and hectic marketplace. I’ve had qualms for quite some time about how to do (or not do) marketing but have never read anything as on point, real and good as this. Authenticity and trust are paramount between reader and author. Though building them usually takes time, courage and faith more than using measures that feel spammy and fake. I’ve earmarked this for future reference to keep me on the right lines with my small audience of blog and book readers, many of whom are actual friends. Good work, Anne! 🙂

Joy–Marketing is hard for all of us, and nobody knows what *really* works, because different things work for different writers and different genres. But building a real, solid base of loyal readers, even if it’s small, is going to work better in the long run than tons of spam. Those readers will tell friends, who will tell friends. Finding a social media platform where your readers hang out and then interacting in an authentic way works way better than email spam, IMO.

I know what I like to see as a reader – a clear, uncluttered easy to navigate author blog or website, maybe some real interaction on there, notice of a new book or story coming out, etc. I then try to do the same things as a writer, figuring – hoping! – there are some people/readers out there like myself, people who don’t want a bunch of newsletters, pop-up windows, hoopla, etc. 🙂

Madeline–Your first sentence reminds me of the famous San Francisco Bookstore, “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place for Books.” I think that’s exactly what most readers want: in real life or online. Maybe “Quiet” should be in there too. Minimal hoopla, hype, and noise..

I could not agree more, Anne! There’s also a flipside to that argument. Quick example… my research assistant/friend has an older sister who reads my books, and she’s constantly begging her to bring me to her house or let her take me out to eat (like I’m a shiny, new toy to lend out). When my friend tells her no, her response is always the same: “But I’m a reader of hers.” As if, that obligates me to share a meal with her. WTH? I’m grateful for a dedicated audience, I really am, but it’s mindboggling why she would think I would dine with every single person who buys my books. Sure, I’ve built friendships with some over time, but the vast majority only reach out on my blog or social media… as it should be. They have lives; I have a life. And no one’s getting the next book if I’m off galavanting with readers (apart from book signings, events, etc.) instead of writing.

As a reader, the BFF emails drive me nuts! The worst offenders are the authors who added me to their list without permission. Unsubscribing is a nightmare.

Sue–I have run into that too. A reader emails me that they’re coming through town and they’d love to get together. That’s flattering, but taking a whole day to drive into town and socialize isn’t something I can do often. I think non writers don’t understand how many hours it takes to produce a book.

The authors who send emails without permission or an unsubscribe function are at the top of my poop list. I used to send them a link to Barb Drozdowich’s great blogpost which politely tells them they’re breaking the law and how much they can be fined.. But I’ve stopped, because they retaliate in nasty ways. Now the newsletters just go to spam.

Anne,
I think most of the problem you are observing is authors who are converting to the use of assistants and sometimes new tools and software without adequate understanding of what they are about to unleash. They may be more un-thinking than wrongheaded and yet, that does not necessarily make them easy to turn around (as they are lost in their own cocoon) of new and protective armor and may be getting somewhat improved results.

I don’t say this to take away from the notion that they are and should be responsible for their actions. More as a precaution for those of us who make various changes in our own professional practices. We are responsible. As Pogo said, “We’ve met the enemy and he is us.”

Ryan–Thanks for the insight! So authors are using tech tools they don’t quite understand. Kind of like Mickey Mouse in the Sorcerer’s Apprentice. 🙂 That makes a lot of sense.

I have often felt that they’re probably getting bad advice from a publicist or web guru who doesn’t understand there’s a difference between selling books–especially fiction–and selling Veg-o-matics or Ginsu knives.

Couldn’t agree more Anne. When I get these kind of emails, they don’t win the sender any favours. The best they can hope for is I delete hit after reading the first sentence. The worst is I’m angry.

I take the less is more approach. I rarely send out emails to my list unless it’s for something significant, like launching a book, or a sale or something. I can’t say I’ve had success but I’m just starting out. I have Facebook or my blog that people can follow me on if they really want to know what’s going on with me.

Andy–It sounds as if you’re doing it just right. It takes a while to build a readership. I don’t think it can be forced. Having a blog helps, even if it seems not a lot of people are reading it. It’s there for when a reader wants to know about you. And they will. 🙂

this is a really good article. Seems like common sense, but I’m preparing to launch a new book and I’ve been reading books about how to market. By the time I finish reading one, I’m convinced I don’t have time to write another book because I’m going to be tied up the rest of my life writing to readers.

Faith–I can’t tell you how many new writers I hear from every week who are feeling the same way. But the truth is, nobody knows what makes a bestseller. And nobody knows what will sell all books. What some “gurus” know is what sells *their* books, but that may not sell yours. So write a good book, make some friends on social media who might be interested in it, and then write another one. Ignore the noise. By the time your second book is finished, there will be a whole new fad for you to ignore. 🙂

I recently took a Write Better Faster class with Becca Syme. One of the first things she teaches is “Question the Premise”. It’s a handy tool for so many things and especially if doing something makes you feel uncomfortable but the popular marketing systems say it must be done.

Thanks for this Anne. I’m with you. I get caught up in it all even though I loathe this kind of marketing. Agents and publishing houses are keen for you to have a strong social media presence but to be truthful, I only follow one or two authors I adore on social media. I wait for them to write a great book. Much prefer that to a photo of what they had for lunch. So as a writer, what am I doing? Writing another book of course 😉

Eva–Writing another book is a very wise path. I don’t feel social media is as intrusive as email. You can bop in and out when you feel like it and it doesn’t scream at you like email. On social media you can make friends with people who might like your books without being pushy. Don’t hard-sell. Just get to know people. It takes a while before they start buying, but when you have several titles out there, you’ll be glad you have those “peeps” on social media. But it only has to take a few minutes a day. Writing has to come first.

Love your fun post! Still smiling. And it is manipulation all the way.

I love the Unsubscribe button. Reminds me of the time I somehow gave my email address to a holiday advertising site. They sent me very large images of wonderful holiday sites around USA/Europe. Lots of images. Every day lots of images.
There was no unsubscribe button, so I forwarded each and every very large image back to the site that sent it to me. It took all day. But, it worked. I never received another image from that site. 🙂

You could do another fun blog on Time Restricted sign up to courses. Obviously the time restriction is only 3 / 5 / 7 days because once the students read and review with comment on the useless course no one else will purchase it. 🙂

I have seen pop ups that ask if you want something and the no option is a total guilt trip. I’ve always wondered if they thought they were being quirky when in reality it comes off as unappealing. I don’t need to be guilt tripped out of what little energy I have.

Patricia–That guilt-tripping stuff is so irritating. It sure makes me not want to go back. That’s called “Dark Pattern Marketing”. I have a link up there to a fascinating article about it. You’re not alone in being turned off.

Thank you so much for this post. It’s so easy to get caught up in all of the email marketing craze, and it’s exhausting. I recently heard an email newsletter ‘guru’ say that newsletter sign-ups on websites needed to be pop-ups, because people love pop-ups! I couldn’t believe it. I don’t know anyone who likes pop-ups.

I still plan to do a email newsletter, but it will be monthly at the most, with my blog included (once I get that going!) and a few other things that might interest readers. Once I start putting out books and short fiction regularly, I’d like to be able to tell readers about them.

As a reader, I do appreciate email notifications of new releases. I read so many different authors and genres that I tend to forget even authors I like! It’s nice to get reminders. Social media just isn’t consistent enough for me to trust that I’ll find out about new books when they come out. I don’t always see my best friend’s posts let alone the authors I follow.

Kim–People love popups? On what planet? OMG I have never heard anybody but web designers say they like popups. They are an annoying way of blocking your own content so nobody can read it. And after you’ve read it, and you want to subscribe–there’s no way, since the popup has popped down. It’s utter lunacy.

I don’t see any reason for a newsletter before you have a book out or you’re publishing stories regularly. As you probably know, I’m a big fan of blogs. They are a way to make friends online, so you have a good solid platform before you publish. The newsletter can come after, if you feel the need. They are good for announcing a launch and asking for reviews.

Yes, the newsletter will come after I’ve published. What would I even put in a newsletter before then? “My books isn’t out yet, thanks for reading this!”

I’ve read your book, The Author Blog, and it was really helpful. I plan to do a blog. I already have several posts in the works, but it’s hard to figure out what I want to focus on. Actually, I might need to read your book again…

I so agree with this. I’ve felt the pressure to go down this path, and have tried to incorporate more personal stuff in my newsletters, but it doesn’t feel comfortable or ‘authentic’ (and that’s the other thing author marketers insist on). And I don’t particularly want to see my favourite authors’ holiday snaps. The more you know, the less interesting they become. I especially don’t like it when authors share pictures of their young children – who aren’t in a position to object.

It’s like everything, some people feel natural writing this way and do it well, but it doesn’t mean that everyone else should do the same, or that it will work for them. I’m going to concentrate on what feels right for me and not be sucked in by the latest trend.

Kate–I think most readers would like a way to contact authors on occasion, and having an online presence and being on social media is a good idea for that reason..

But whether it’s with newsletters, blogs or social media, I agree with you: Kids should be off limits. For family stuff, I always recommend a closed family FB group. You don’t know who could be stealing your kids’ photos and photoshopping them into something awful.

While I agree that intrusive and dark pattern marketing is a scourge, I’d prefer if we didn’t equate the emails to #metoo. Many men and woman who have been victims of sexual violence do not need to feel that their pain and suffering is at all comparable with unwanted emails.

I do NOT like that a mere phone conversation these days pops up ads for sensitive medical conditions in my Facebook feed.

As for unwanted emails, I send them to my spam folder and report it. Sure, they can change servers, but I can match my aggravation at the unwanted contact with a little aggravation of my own to them when they have to make changes from mass reports of breaking various federal laws on spamming.

Elizabeth–Hi there! *waves*. I hesitated about putting #MeTo in here, since I’m a survivor of sexual assault. But I think the movement has come to encompass all aspects of respect and consent. As a rape survivor, I feel triggered by invasions of privacy, even small ones, and I think it’s important for these marketers to realize they are hurting people with this kind of blatant disrespect.

The fact all we have to do is mention a medical condition on FB or even in a phone message and suddenly we’re inundated with mail about our “diagnosis'”sends me into a tearful rage that goes beyond the immediate event. It is a trigger for me, and I think for a lot of survivors.

#MeToo is about standing up to disrespect for our boundaries and I think this is part of that.

Sending to spam can help get rid of these people, and I even report some of them to the government. It can be very satisfying, whether it does anything or not.

Anne, once again you’ve written an article that is so spot on. I subscribe to several author newsletters. Some get dropped within the first few days because they use some kind of back-end marketing doohickey that sends a slew of emails in a row – thanking me for signing up, welcoming me to their newsletter, this-and-that-and-the-other thing email. If I sign up and they hit me with more than 1 that first week, I’m out of there whether they are asking me personal questions or not. 1) I don’t have time since I’m busy writing my own books; and 2) I don’t have time – my inbox is already full of unread things I actually NEED to read.

Jeanne–That barrage of emails that attack your inbox after you subscribe is the big problem for me, and the reason I wrote this piece. It’s some kind of automated system and it feels like an assault, especially when the emails contain personal questions..

One of the commenters in this thread said he thought this problem was mostly caused by authors who didn’t understand what the new tech gimmicks really do. I think he’s right. Authors are told by tech people that this is the latest thing and everybody’s doing it, so they jump in, not realizing that the latest gimmick might not be the best practice.

No one wants a barrage of automated emails that are clearly only trying to sell us something, but there is room for a wide range between this and only contacting readers when we want them to buy a book.

My readers surely seem to appreciate my personal care for them as women who do not have perfect lives, and use my books to create a little get-away for themselves. They demonstrate this – when I ask them questions, some reply via email, and our convos warm both of our hearts.

They certainly don’t seem to consider my using email to introduce myself and my works as an invasion of their privacy. But if they do, I make it easy to unsubscribe–in every single email.

And when I receive emails from readers, I definitely respond in person.

I do not, by the way, have an assistant, and yet I have time to write enough to make a very nice income. I say that not to be smug, but because I thought the claim odd that authors who have time to write back to readers ‘must’ have assistants.

I also subscribe to my favorite authors’ email lists, and enjoy hearing from them about upcoming works, inspirations and a bit about their lives.

If an author is in doubt about how much email is enough/too much, there are some very fine books available to learn from, including ‘Newsletter Ninja’ and others.

Catherine–I answer all my readers’ emails too. And their FB and Twitter comments and of course the comments here. But that’s when THEY initiate contact. I would not have time to write to every single reader separately or I’d be dead in a month.

But since you can do it, then more power to you! You’ve found the secret of perfect time management. Congratulations!

Hi Anne,
Boy, did this article hit home with me. I have emailed Wayfair and others to complain and ask if they know how many potential customers they lose when they require an email just to enter their site. Love the 10-minute email idea.
The snarky opt-out reasons (“No, I don’t want to be beautiful”; “No, I’d rather pay for shipping”; “No, I’m not interested in making money”) only alienate me, and others as well based on what I’ve read (see https://www.nngroup.com/articles/shaming-users/).
And the author emails…I signed up for a freebie to help increase my writing productivity and then received a chatty email every single day for the next 7 days saying, “I hope you enjoyed yesterday’s email,” and I’m like, no, I haven’t read yesterday’s or the day before that because you’re inundating me with them. My writing productivity has actually decreased since getting your dang freebie.
I’m on the list of one well-known author who does a lot of self-publishing webinars and courses, and in one of his emails, he asked questions about our publishing journeys. I replied and included a question. I received an email from his VA to go to his Facebook page and ask the question in order to get an answer, which I didn’t because I got the feeling that the author didn’t read his emails anyway, so why would he read his Facebook page?
Anyway, thanks for a great article. I do feel like communication has gotten too touchy-feely for an introvert like me, and unsubscribing usually has the “why” options as none I would pick. Maybe if they included “Because stalkers suck”, I’d choose that one.

Pam–Thank you for that link! I’ve just shared it on social media. Every marketer needs to read it. Just now I got a direct mail post card from Wayfair offering me a 10% discount. I burned it. I will NEVER shop at Wayfair. They have made a life-long enemy of me, and thousands of people like me. When I see their ads on TV I want to scream “why are you spending all this money on TV ads when you drive us when we get to the site?” It’s like advertising a big sale, but when people get to your store, it’s all locked up tight. Insanity!

I always wondered what would happen if I actually answered one of those email questions. So you just got a slap in the face. These people are putting so much energy into being hated. It’s amazing.

And yes, I would like every one of those popups to give us the option “Because Stalkers Suck!”

I had a real stalker, back when I was a lot younger and thinner, and those stalkery emails trigger PTSD for me. Stop stalking, people!

Staci–That is absolute truth. I did not make it up. In fact, some of the funniest things here are taken from real emails.

You’ve said it well. Readers feel they are being harassed and punished for showing an interest in an author. This is not how to sell books.

There’s also the problem that some authors rage-Tweet at every unsubscribe, so unsubscribing is tougher than ever. So we just send them to spam. Then the author is writing all this nonsense only for the spam folders of gmail. What a waste of everybody’s time!

Hi Anne, Love this and am laughing a bit. As you know, I just launched my new blog. (Thank you for visiting!!! 🙂

The developer wrote me at one point and said, “I just added this AWESOME pop-up to your site.”

I replied, “Thank you so much. Will you take that down, please?”

I certainly haven’t figured out my whole marketing plan yet, but I have a way for folks to join the list and that is sufficient for me right now. I’m going to proceed at my own pace, validating with each progression that the blog, and the marketing, and anything else associated with the site aligns with my way of being in the world.

Christine–Welcome! I love the concept of your blog. Critiques can be good, bad or ugly and we need help telling the difference.

The fact your blog doesn’t have a pop-up immediately signals it’s a classy, reader-oriented site. (Web designers love those things, don’t they? Fun toys for them, reader repellants for us.) I’ll be giving you a shout out in next Sunday’s blogpost. I think you’ll be getting a lot of traffic soon. The writing community needs a blog like yours.

Teach–Thanks so much for this comment! It validates what I’m saying here.

You wouldn’t believe the number of authors who have drunk this Kool-Aid and are furious with me for telling them that when a reader accepts a free book they have no idea they are signing up for a barrage of privacy-invading spam.

These newsletter gurus are not selling books. They are selling courses to authors. So they don’t care if readers feel “badgered.”

But authors should. I am trying to get the word out that badgering is not selling.

Do unsubscribe and if they ask why, say you feel badgered. It’s a good word. 🙂 I wish more readers would speak up. Then writers can get back to writing books.

I do send out a newsletter, but I keep it strictly professional and I don’t badger subscribers who don’t open my emails.

I have gotten the emails asking why I haven’t opened emails or why I haven’t visited a site in a while, but if I don’t have time to open a particular newsletter, I certainly don’t have time to email the sender to explain that I don’t have enough time.

I think there’s a happy medium in email marketing, and it is simply this: don’t ask questions you wouldn’t want to be asked. Don’t pester someone if you would not also like to be pestered. Pretty sure you mentioned that in your post, which was both funny and straight-to-the-point.

amreade–Exactly. It’s all about the Golden Rule. If you don’t like guilt-trippy missives from whiney authors, gee, maybe other people don’t either. Some writers prefer to interact with readers via email, & others prefer a blog. Either can be friendly and warm, or phony, hard-sell, and creepy. I’m objecting to the creepy ones.

Thank you. Maybe it’s my introversion, maybe it’s my passive-aggression, but faced with a high-pressure salesperson, I dig in my heels and back way off (if those two aren’t mutually exclusive). Send a newsletter with info about professional-personal things, post on your blog, include a picture of your cat or dog, and let me decide which of your books I’ll buy and when. To me, that’s being a friends. And I’ll buy a lot more books that way. (Confession: This introvert has trouble marketing her own books. Blog posts about tripping over my own feet and pictures of my cats–that’s as far as I’m comfortable going. Readers can take it from there.)

This. Yes. I have no problem sharing parts of myself with readers or potential readers through social media or blog posts where they can choose to read what I post or scroll on by. Trying I’m interesting enough thr6ill stop and sees what I have to say. Trying to make myself their BFF feels like I’m ramming myself down their throats or being creepy. I don’t work like that, it makes me uncomfortable. Chances are if the idea of doing it creeps me out then the person on the other end would feel even worse. That’s not a good marketing strategy unless your aim is to make people run a mile.

Kat–Yes! That’s why I prefer a blog. People have to make a conscious choice to visit and then they can interact or not. No guilt trips or manipulation.

It’s all about the Golden Rule. If you wouldn’t like it, don’t do it to others.

But it’s occured to me recently that these “rules” may have been thought up by tech people who may not have well-developed social skills. They simply don’t know what other people feel is a boundary violation.. (In which case I feel they should shut up, but that’s only my opinion.)

I have heard from so many readers who say this kind of behavior has made them decide to never read a book by that author, so you are spot on. This only makes readers run, not buy.

I’ve never understood this idea that readers want to know all about the person who wrote the book. I buy books for one reason only – because I want to read the STORY. I couldn’t give a flying fudge what the author had for breakfast.

Anne, you make so many excellent points. We are all bombarded with emails and advertisements all day long. If if’s not a robocall, it’s social media postings. It is so hard to find a balance between showing that you care about your readers and intruding into their personal space. There is a limit to the perception that all of us need to be personally connected.

BA–The thing is that marketers think that more emails = more sales. But it’s simply not true. I’ve just unsubscribed from every political email I’m getting because every candidate sends me up to 10 histrionic emails a day. (Not that I subscribed to any.) It’s enough to make people not vote.

Overkill marketing make people NOT buy. Nobody likes spam or robocalls. And spam doesn’t make people feel “personally connected”. It makes us feel assaulted.

And another thing no marketer can even imagine, is that readers read many authors. While one email from an author about what she did on her summer vacation might be mildly interesting. 150 different authors sending you their itinerary is not.

OMG YES!!! Speak out against this invasive sales mongering! As a writer, I won’t do it. As a reader, I resent it. I’ve clicked the unsubscribe button on nearly every mailing list a freebie made me sign up to because how many author emails can an inbox take before it takes over? What did I think of their book? It’s still on my computer waiting for room on my Kindle!

I may not be the best marketer but at least I’m not pushing people away with these vile methods. I keep a Facebook page for those who actually want to hear about sales and new releases as well as my blog, which I better update as I’ve got a sale going on this weekend!

Jaq–Thanks for brightening my morning by affirming what I’m saying here. Spamming *is* “vile”. I don’t think that’s too strong a term. All it does is alienate readers. No reader can wade through 150 author newsletters a day.

I’ve made a lot of enemies with this post. I got about 6 drunk-troll comments I had to send to trash. Most of them hadn’t actually read the post, but they were all in high dudgeon. They had one thing in common: a sense of entitlement. The world owes them readers and they’re going to spam those readers into submission. No empathy, no sense of reality.

I think what we’ve been told in the past still works. Keep a blog and a Facebook page (either/or author page and friend page) Promote your blogposts and new releases on Twitter. Maybe send a newsletter when you have a new release or big promotion. Buying ads will help too. But spam will not.

The trouble is, advice is all over the Internet telling authors to do this and build their mailing list, but too many people don’t think about the fact that they’re not the only one doing it! 150 author newsletters a day would be easy to collect! I’d rather be reading the books. If they’re good, I search out the author and see what else they’ve done.

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Anne R. Allen writes funny mysteries and how-to-books for writers. She also writes poetry and short stories on occasion. She’s a contributor to Writer’s Digest and the Novel and Short Story Writer’s Market.

Her bestselling Camilla Randall Mystery Series features perennially down-on-her-luck former socialite Camilla Randall—who is a magnet for murder, mayhem and Mr. Wrong, but always solves the mystery in her quirky, but oh-so-polite way.

Ruth is a million-copy New York Times bestselling author, Romantic Times award winner, former Big 5 editor, publisher, and news junkie.

Her emotional, entertaining women’s fiction and critically praised novels have sold millions of copies in hard cover, paperback and ebook editions, been translated into 19 languages, sold in 30 countries, and were prominent selections of leading book clubs including the Literary Guild and the Book Of The Month Club.